Some individuals (referred to herein as “clients”) may require managed care, for example as a result of aging or disability. As used herein, “managed care” refers to care or supervision for an individual that is administered, supervised, or directed by another person or group of people, which may include professional caregivers and/or laymen. The present application relates to a method, medium, and system for managing the care of such an individual or group of individuals.
In some cases, the client may require extensive managed care that can only be provided in a dedicated managed care facility such as a nursing home. However, such facilities may be expensive and may limit the independence of the client housed in the facility. Therefore, in some situations it may be preferable for the client to receive at-home care (either in their own home, or in the home of a caregiver such as a relative or friend).
There remain a number of potential problems with providing at-home care for a client requiring managed care. For example, a lay caregiver may not recognize medically important events that could indicate the presence of a problem requiring expert attention. The lay caregiver may simply not know which of the many events in the client's daily routine carry medical significance and which do not.
On the other hand, if the client does see experts such as registered nurses or doctors in an at-home care situation, then the experts are unlikely to have access to the client on a 24/7 basis (in contrast to a managed care facility). Thus, the experts may not become aware of problems until these problems have escalated. This may increase the cost of the client's care and/or may increase the risk of negative outcomes, such as injury, hospitalization, or the removal of the client from at-home care.